I Have a Confession to Make

For me, winter is a period profuse with excuse. In fact, I’d say excuses are the singular field in which my productivity increases. Basically, I go in to hibernation mode. And yet, here I am writing for a blog called Trampling Down Walls & Eradicating Excuses. I haven’t written an article in nearly a month because I haven’t been running as much as I would like to be, but that’s just another excuse, isn’t it?

And I know I’m not alone in this. There’s a wise adage that goes like this: “Excuses are like…” well, never mind. But the punchline is “ Everybody has one.” So today I’m going to lay out all of the excuses I have not to run and week by week, I’m going to (do my best to) eradicate every single one of them.

1)      I have persistent IT Band Syndrome

2)      It’s too damn cold

3)      I’m bored of running Seneca Creek/I don’t know other trails in the area

4)      I’m not signed up for any races, so I don’t have a goal

At the top of my list is IT Band pain, which I’ve been struggling with since last March. I have the tools to work through the injury but I haven’t been consistent, especially with strengthening exercises. So, I asked our manager-in-training and resident glute/hip strengthening expert, Melissa to make me an idiot-proof work out plan. Here is what she came up with:

1. Box Squats, 4 sets of 15
2. Bulgarian Split Squats, 3 sets of 10
3. Band Abductions & Kickbacks, 4 sets of 25
4. Barbell Glute Raise/Hip Thrusts, 5 sets of 10
5. Side Lunges, 3 sets of 12

I know what you’re thinking, Bulgarian Split Squats sound like a barbaric Ottoman torture technique. O.K., maybe that’s just what I’m thinking, but Melissa has assured me that with her guidance, in a few weeks, I will look exactly like this:

Stay tuned for my next Blog update when I post pictures from my work-out sessions with Melissa and tackle my next excuse! Now it’s your turn. What are some of your excuses and how do you plan to work through them?

About Maggie Smith

Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg was recently named to competitor’s ‘Top 50 Running Stores in America’ list and we are focused on providing the absolute best customer service in the industry through our comprehensive FIT process. The FIT process is our philosophy, or FITlosophy, and is the approach to everything we do, from shoe and sports bra fit to fitting the right training program into your lifestyle. Running is what we do and what we are passionate about and we love helping people become more involved in running and living a healthy, active lifestyle!

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